Ornamenting book-covers



- UNITED sragrgnseagiriNT-QFFICE: f

wM. MeADAMs, or ALBANY, New YORK.

' ORNAMENTING BooK-covRsj To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MoADAMs, of the city of Albany, in thecounty of Albany and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulprocess of illuminating or o-rnamenting with colors the leather coversof books or fancy articles covered with leather, which I denominatestereographic binding, which is described as follows.

The mode heretofore practiced in effecting the above named result onbook covers, has

, been, either, by cutting out pieces of leather of the desired form andcolo-r, and after paring or thinning them, kpasting them upon the'covers in their required relative positions, or by the hand of anartist, painting such devices as are designed for the covers in watercolors in they same manner that it is done upon paper. Both of theseprocesses it will be seen are very elaborate; the one first above named,requiring in the performance some two or three days, where the devicesare in any degree intricate, or numerous, while that last above namedmay require as many weeks.

By my improvement in the art, hundreds of volumes may be done in thesame time, and as well as by the process of applying colored pieces ofleather that one volume could'be completedby the old mode and muchcheaper.

My process is as follows: The leather used must be white, or what istermed virgin leather, tanned with oak bark, and free from grease, acid,and alkalies.- The covers may be made in the usual manner, and left todry for four or five days, and then stamped in blank with a heated die(that is to sayithe brass die that is to be used in stamping the gold).AThis blank impression acts for a gage by which to put on the colors, andis absolutely necessary to prevent the colors from spreading.

The colors are prepared in the following manner: For a red color takeone ounce of cochineal; three quarters of an ounce of Brazil wood,simmered in a pint ofv rain water till nearly dry; and then poured intoa very fine linen cloth, andas much of the color pressed through it aspossible, bya binders common press, into a china vessel; then add/ fouror five drops of aqua-regia to be used cold. For a light green takePersian berries two ounces, simmered down in a pint of rain water, andsubjected to the same process as with the red, and brought ltoy therequired shade lwith chemicksbluep The purple is the ,same as ybindersuse. Fori black take iron filings simmered in vinegar for several days.For a y ellow color use aqua regia. The pans in which the colors areprepared must be lof china ware, as a vessel of a metallic substancewould be corroded with the acid in the colors and spoil them.

The colors must be purified, or liltrated from all sediment in thefollowing described manner: Take several thicknesses of fine softflannel and lay them in a vessel so as to leave a space betweenthe lowerpiece of flannel and the bottom of the vessel. Pour the color into thatspace at theside of the vessel until it reaches the annel through -whichVit will rise in a pure state leaving t-he sediment behind; for shouldany sediment rise to the`- upper surface of the flannel it could not beused in staining the leather as it would stick to the die and smear andspoil the impression.

The dz'es.-The dies are prepared in theA following manner. Take blocksof a soft pine wood that will absorb and impartthe colors prepared asabove described and bring them to the required length, breadth, andthickness. Make the surface on which the design is to be formed smooth.Draw the required design thereon. Cut away the block half an inch deepat right angles to the face thereof leaving the portions that are tostain the leatherk smooth and the sides wall-sided to prevent the colorsfrom running together, or mixing, and not like common wood cuts. i

Manner of staining the Zeather.-Place i ner; orseveral colors may betransferred to the face of the kdie at the same time by making a vesselto contain the several colors l with partitions in it formingspacescorresponding with the shape of the design on the die in which theseveral colors are placed by rnetallic dies to prevent the spreadingVand mixing of the colors, and then stamping the colors(previously-prepared in the particular manner above described) by means15` of soft porous Wooden stamps made Wall sided, as herein moreparticularly set forth,

by Which the ends above stated are attained.

' WM. .MCADAMS Witnesses: I

WM. P. ELLIOT,

A. E. H. JOHNSON.

